One Hell of a Series of Unfortunate Events
by EvilLydia
Summary: The Baudelaire's lives have been getting worse since the death of their parents. Klaus' faith had been wearing thin and, after renouncing God, a Demon appeared before him and offered him a deal. Will this change bring the Baudelaires a brighter future or sink them further into the darkness.
1. Morning

After rereading what I posted I decided to rewrite it.

Chapter 1 - One Hell of a Bad Beginning, Morning...part 1 (rewritten)

The Baudelaire orphans cried quietly in their room. Klaus' face still stung from Count Olaf's 'discipline'. He closed his eyes. It felt like they had been in this dark, dirty, empty place for long than they really had.

After a while his sisters became very quiet. It seemed like they had fallen asleep. It felt like he was floating, the bed had disappeared from under him. Before him stood a tall being, that was the best word for it, walking up to him slowly. His breath caught in his throat. Not from fear but awe; it didn't occur to him that he probably should be scared in a situation like this.

It didn't have a face or anything that might resemble a real body. It was almost like it was made up of black smoke and spikes, all tangled up together. The only thing that wasn't part of this mess was it's eyes. There were a bright red, and sharp. It was like it could see through anything, even his very soul.

In the back of his mind he thought that he should be scared but he wasn't. He just looked at it, staring at it in awe. He thought about his sisters for a moment. He wondered if he could get them out of here but, at the same time, he felt like he couldn't move for some reason. He reasoned that this must be a dream.

"A small master..." the being mused. "What do you want?" he asked without thinking. He hadn't see this thing in the theater troupe before but maybe it was a guest that came after they went to bed. "The question is," the thing said to him, "what do you want most of all? I can give you anything you want, for a price."

"I want to leave this place." Klaus said quietly. The thing was watching him, waiting for him to really answer. Klaus thought about the question for a moment. "My sisters, I want to protect them." He answered finally.

The thing shifted, "For the rest of their lives? For the rest of your life? You must make it clear what you want." Klaus thought that if this was really a dream, then it didn't matter what he really said. "But it does." The thing said to him.

Klaus was taken aback. Did this thing just read his mind? But if it read his mind, why did it need to ask him? "Because," it answered his unasked question, "in order to make a deal, you must tell me what you want. It must come from your own mouth."

Klaus closed his eyes to think. He needed to word things right. "I want to protect them until they can protect themselves. I want them to live a better life. And I want to make sure that Sunny can grow up and be able to be anything she wants to be. Can you promise that you can protect them until then?"

Rows of sharp teeth, maybe even sharper than Sunny's, appeared from the black clouds. "Of course, young master, I can assure you that they will be protected. In return, when our contract is completed, then you will pay me." Klaus crinkled his nose in thought, "What do you want in return?" he asked.

Although it's 'face' didn't change, it looked amused somehow. It was just something he felt. "I want to eat your soul." Klaus felt all of the air leave his lungs. That was a terrifying thing in itself. But, he thought that if it meant keeping his sisters safe for the rest of their lives, then maybe it was worth it.

The thing shifted to the other side of him. It's teeth were still showing, "Yes," it continued, "I can make a contract somewhere on your body. This will make sure that I can find you, if you call me. There will be no where that I can not find you, I can find you _anywhere_. The more visible place you choose, the stronger our bond."

Klaus wanted to make the strongest bond possible. The most visible place would be his forehead but that would make him look really weird. When he looked at the being he was drawn to its eyes. "Could you do it in my eyes without making me blind?" He felt a little silly for asking such a ridiculous question but before he could take it back, it replied. "Of course," it said, as it approached him.

As it reached for his face it stopped, "I need a name. How would you like to address me?" Klaus thought about it for a bit. He had never named anything before. He remembered a neighbor that he once knew. The man was scary but it turned out that was actually really nice and helpful. The phrase, 'don't judge a book by it's cover' - a phrase which here means not to judge someone by their looks - came to mind. "Sebastian." he said.

"As you wish," it said. As it grabbed his face it was like a fire was burning through his skull. He tried to scream but all of the air seemed to leave his lungs. He couldn't breath. It felt like he was crying. His vision was blurry and fading. Instead of hitting the floor, it felt like he was floating.

Unless you have been very, very lucky, you have undoubtedly experienced events in your life that have made you cry. So unless you have been very, very , lucky, you know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better, even if your circumstances have not changed one bit. Violet and Sunny woke to find their brother still fast asleep.

Violet tried to jostle - a word which here mean 'shake him awake' - him, when she noticed the blood around his eye. "Klaus!" She gasped. He blinked a couple of times as he slowly started to sit up. "Klaus, what happened to your eye?" In the middle of his right eye was a red star, not that he could see it. "I dreamed," Klaus' voice was laced with sleep, "that I made a deal with a demon to keep you both safe." Violet hugged him tightly. Sunny crawled over to them and she lifted her up so that she could hug him too.

Violet went over to Sunny's bed and ripped apart some of the curtains. She dipped some of them in water to wipe away the blood and used the rest as a makeshift bandage. "This will have to do for now. I think you need to go to the hospital." Violet said. Klaus sat as still as he could as she patched him up, "I've never read about an infection like this. Anyway, it doesn't hurt right now so let's do what Count Olaf wants so that we don't get in trouble. Who knows what he might do to us. Then we can go." Violet looked like she didn't like that plan but agreed to go along with it for now.

They didn't see Count Olaf that morning but they did see the note he left. One of the many difficult chores that he had given them was chopping firewood.

As the two older siblings chopped the wood, Sunny nibbled on a bit of wood. "I'm getting worried about your eye, Klaus." Violet said. "But if Count Olaf finds that we skipped out on work, I don't think that he would be very forgiving." Klaus countered. "Besides, we are nearly finished with our chores." It was obvious that Violet wanted to object but, before she could, Sunny shrieked, "Gibbo!" Which probably meant something like, 'Look at that strange man coming through the back door.

"What do you think your doing?" came the scratchy voice of Count Olaf from the door, followed closely by a very angry Count Olaf. Out of the door came a tall man in a black suit. the children stopped working and looked at him. He came over to them and bowed deeply. "I'm happy to see you again, young master."


	2. Afternoon

Chapter 2 - One Hell of a Bad Beginning, Noon (Rewritten)

Klaus thought that he had just dreamed that man, that he would never see him again. But here he was, in the flesh. Without thinking, Klaus reached up and touched the drapes that were covering his eye. "I am sorry, Young Master, for not coming to you sooner." Count Olaf, who was already angry at him for coming into his home without asking, stepped forward. "I was speaking to you! What. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Doing?"

It was clear that this new man was annoyed with him but he turned around and smiled politely, "I was speaking to my Master. Although, I suppose that I should have introduced myself. I am Sebastian Edgar, the Baudelaire butler." The Baudelaires could see the gears turning in Count Olaf's mind - a phrase which here means 'they could see him making a sinister plan'. He smiled darkly, "Since I am the orphans guardian then that means you are my butler." Mr. Edgar matched his smile, "I'm sorry, I didn't know that your name was Baudelaire as well."

Count Olaf's anger was back, "I am their guardian, they belong to me. Besides, the girl says that she can't touch the money until she is 18 anyway. You're not going to get paid." Mr. Edgar gave him a scary look, "I have made an arrangement with the Baudelaires. That is not an issue for you. After all I am the Baudelaire butler."

Swiftly, he turned back to the orphans, "Master, if you allow me, I will rebandage your eye. Not that your job wasn't a wonderful attempt. Afterward, we can go to the bank to talk to Mr. Poe if you would like." Violet's eyes brightened, "That would be wonderful but I really think that Klaus needs to see a doctor." Sebastian smiled, "I can assure you that I have the skills that are needed, after all, a Baudelaire butler should at least be able to do that."

"Unfortunately," he continued, "I currently do not have a car. Of course, if it's acceptable, we could take the trolly." Klaus wondered if he knew that they liked taking the trolly. He had a feeling that he did. It felt like this man was looking right into his heart. The thought was ridiculous but he just couldn't convince himself otherwise.

"That would be wonderful, Mr. Edgar." Violet said, stepping forward. Mr. Edgar put a hand to his chin and smiled to himself, "I would prefer to be called Sebastian." "Of course," she smiled back at him. "If you children would like to wait upstairs for me, I'll be there momentarily."

Sebastian stared down Count Olaf as the children slipped past him. They didn't know if this was the right thing to do. If they couldn't get the money and they made Count Olaf really mad, what would happen to them? "We have to do something." said Klaus. He really wanted to get his sisters out of this situation, no matter how. If things didn't work out at the bank, he would think of something else.

They had only been upstairs for a few minutes before they heard a light knock on the door. Violet was shaking as she went to answer it, afraid that it was Count Olaf. Instead, she found Sebastian with a basin of water and a few towels. "He put the basin and towels down in the middle of the floor and walked out of the room to bring in a chair from the dining room. "Young Master, please have a seat."

Klaus nodded and sat down. Violet picked up Sunny and sat on the bed. "Um, Mr. E-, Sebastian?" "Yes, My Lady?" He responded, unwrapping Klaus' head. "Klaus has something in his eye that I'm really worried about." Sebastian was touching Klaus' face gently, and Klaus was getting a little nervous at how close he was getting. "I see what you are talking about, he is fine. I promise he won't go blind."

Violet didn't like the way he was talking but Klaus thought he understood. When he was 'dreaming' he had asked if putting the mark in his eye would blind him. He suspected that was what Sebastian was talking about.

When he was finished, Klaus looked like he had just come out of a hospital. "Klaus, how do you feel?" Violet asked. Klaus nodded, "I feel alright,". "Sebastian," Violet addressed him, "you did a really good job. Were you a doctor?" Sebastian smiled at her, "No, I'm just one hell of a butler."

Klaus gasped at his language and Violet used one hand to cover one of Sunny's ear and pressed the other to her body. "Mr. Edgar!" said Klaus sharply. "Don't use language like that." Sebastian looked surprised for a moment before smiling hungrily. "I'm sorry, Young Master. I will curb my language to suit your tastes better."

Klaus blushed, He didn't mean to yell at him. Normally we wasn't that rude. "You don't have to call me 'Young Master'. You can call me Klaus." "As you wish." said Sebastian. "Are you prepared to go to the bank now, Klaus?" Sebastian asked. "Yeah, lets go." said Klaus, hopping off his chair. Violet picked Sunny up and followed him out the door.

The children were a little nervous about walking out of the manor, knowing that Count Olaf was there. Sebastian, on the other hand, walked confidently beside them. They didn't see Count Olaf as they left the house.

Sebastian helped both of them onto the trolly and got on himself. As Klaus sat with Sunny, Violet stood next to Sebastian. "I don't remember having a butler." she said. He smiled at her, "True, my contract began recently."

They stood together in silence for a moment before she said anything again. "What, um, what kind of arrangement do you have to get paid?" This situation was really odd. She wanted to know who this strange man was. "The contract that I have made is between me and the person that I have made it with." Klaus walked over to them, Sunny still in his arms.

"I know this sounds strange," he said, "but, I dreamed about you last night. Could it be that we have met and I just don't remember?" "No, Klaus. We have not known each other before. We've only met yesterday." Violet gave him a confused look, but Klaus bit his lip before saying slowly, "Are you a demon?" Sebastian smiled at him, "I'm a demon of a butler."

Both of the children were skeptical. Klaus had read some things about demons but there was no proof that they existed. That didn't really make since, and he didn't like things that he couldn't figure out.

When it was time to leave the trolly, Sebastian helped both of them to the ground. Unfortunately, none of the children knew where the bank was. Sebastian seemed to know exactly where to go. He led them through the meat district, the flower district and the sculpture district before arriving at the banking district. There were banks all around them and they didn't know which one Mr. Poe worked at.

Sebastian stopped and looked around for a moment. "One moment, please." he said. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. While he was doing this, the three children left to take a refreshing sip of water from the Fountain of Victorious Finance. By the time they were finished, Sebastian was already walking up to them. "I have located your banker, Mr. Poe." "Really?" asked Klaus. "Of course," said Sebastian and gestured down the street.

The children followed Sebastian into a square, plain looking building with a sign out front that said Mulctuary Money Management. Sebastian held the door open for them. Once inside, the children were a little intimidated by the hustle and bustle of people, racing around to get their jobs done. Every now and then, someone would spare a glance at Klaus but nothing more.

While they were looking around, Sebastian disappeared. He was only gone for a few moments before returning with a uniformed guard who offered to lead them to Mr. Poe's large office.

Mr. Poe's office had a lot of file cabinets but no windows. His entire desk was covered in important but boring looking papers. There were three telephones with flashing lights in front. Off to the side of the desk was a framed picture of his wife and two sons.

He looked like he was very busy but when he noticed the children coming into his office he stopped what he was doing. He stood to greet them, "Please come in. Klaus, what happened to your eye!" The children came in and sat in front of the desk, "We think that Klaus has an infection in his eye." Violet said. "Oh, that's terrible!" Mr. Poe said.

He didn't notice Sebastian until he was already in the office. He was standing behind the children. "I don't think I've had the pleasure." said Mr. Poe, outstretching his hand. Sebastian held his right hand to his chest and bowed slightly. "The pleasure is mine." He stood up straight, "I am Sebastian Edgar, the butler of the Baudelaire family." Mr. Poe wanted to address him but he fell into a coughing fit. He took out his handkerchief and coughed into it while the others waited.

When he was finally able to speak again he said, "I didn't know that the Baudelaire family had a butler." Sebastian smiled at him and responded, "A good servant is neither seen nor heard unless his master wants to be and I am very good at my job."

"Anyway, I, um," Mr. Poe tried to continue, he was having a little trouble getting back on track. "I'm very busy today, so I don't have too much time to chat." He turned his attention back to the children. "Next time you should call ahead when you plan on being in the neighborhood, and I will put some time aside to take you to lunch."

Violet nodded, "That would be very pleasant, and we're sorry we didn't contact you before we stopped by, but we find ourselves in an urgent situation." "Count Olaf is a madman," Klaus stepped in. "We cannot stay with him." Violet gestured to Klaus' face. "He struck him across the face."

Mr. Poe looked shocked, "Did he cause the injury to Klaus' eye!?" The children looked a little dejected, "Well, no. But he did bruise his face."

As she was trying to explain one of the phones rang. "Excuse me," he said and picked up the phone. "Poe here." The children felt something ominous behind them. They turned to see Sebastian staring at Mr. Poe, anger rolling off him. "What?" Mr. Poe said into the phone. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. No. Yes. Thank you." He hung up the phone and looked up at them.

"I'm sorry," he said, "what were we talking about? Oh, yes, Count Olaf. I'm sorry you don't have a good first impression of him." "He has only provided us with one bed." Klaus argued. "He drinks too much wine." But once again the telephone rang. "Excuse me," he said as he answered the phone, "Poe here." This time Sebastian stepped around the children and up to the desk where Mr. Poe was talking. "Seven. Seven. Sev-" Sebastian had taken the telephone from him and hung it up.

"Speaking on the telephone while you have guests is incredibly rude." He said in a polite way. Mr. Poe was dumbfounded by his actions. "Now, I believe that my masters were speaking to you about their living conditions and, as you are in charge of their current financial affairs, it would be best if you listened to their complaints. Master Klaus, Lady Violet, would you permit me to speak with Mr. Poe alone for a moment? I'm sure he is very busy and would like to return to his work as soon as possible."

The children nodded and reluctantly stood from their seats. Violet was carrying Sunny as they stepped into the lobby. As they stood over by a wall, out of the way they watched the people move around the building. "What do you think Sebastian is going to say to him?" asked Violet. Klaus shook his head, "I have no idea. He was really rude but he did get Mr. Poe to listen to him."

They waited for Sebastian to finish. Every now and then they would look over at the door. They were nervous that Count Olaf would come find them. They didn't know what they would do if they ran into him again and they were afraid what he would do if they went home alone.

Although it wasn't very long at all, it seemed like he had been in there for a very long time. When he did finally come out the children walked over to him quickly, "What happened?" Klaus asked. Sebastian smiled at him, "I'm taking you home." The children had hoped that he had been able to do something but it looked like nothing had changed. Everything looked hopeless.

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Well, it didn't really come out very well but I thought it would be fun to call Sebastian 'Mr. E' because no one knows anything about him. That was the whole reason I gave him the last name Edgar.


	3. Coming Home

Chapter 3 - Coming Home Again

If I told you that the Baudelaire children were sad that would be an understatement. It is very hard to really understand such a crushing disappointed unless you yourself have felt it.

Violet held Sunny very close to her and closed her eyes as she felt every bump on the trolly back to their doom. She could feel Klaus standing too close to her arm, wanting the same comfort. They thought that Sebastian was going to be able to help them but they were mistaken.

When it was time for them to get off of the trolly he held out his arm. As they looked at him he smirked, "Master, Lady, this isn't our stop." As much as she wanted to argue with him, she really, really didn't want to go back to Count Olaf's house.

xxxxxx

Violet held Sunny even tighter against her as Sebastian led her and her siblings to where she knew the ruins of their old home lay. She didn't know if she was ready to see it again. After everything that had happened at Count Olaf's house, they couldn't go back there.

Things were so uncertain right now. She could tell that Klaus felt just as scared as she was.

As they turned the final corner she closed her eyes, not wanting to see the evidence of the destruction of everything she had known. "Whoa," Klaus whispered next to her.

She slowly opened her eyes to look at what she thought was going to be ruins. Instead the mansion had been restored to it's former glory.

"H-how?" She looked up at Sebastian. He was smiling at them with his eyes closed. "I'm just one devil of a butler."

Slowly, she and her siblings walked into their home. Everything was just like they left it, as if they had never gone to the beach that day. She almost expected to see her parents walk down the stairs, but she knew that it wouldn't happen. She felt tears pool in the corners of her eyes.

"Is it not to your liking?" Sebastian asked. She noticed that Klaus was also on the verge of crying. "It's amazing." said Klaus.

Violet nodded. "The books!" He said suddenly, running up the stairs. Violet followed him closely. If the books were recovered then maybe some of her inventions were saved as well.

She had reached the library just moments after him but he had already gotten several of the books down and was flipping through them. "They're here." he said, "They're all back." She was slightly taken aback when she saw tears streaking down his face.

She sat Sunny down one the of the seats and walked over to one of the bookshelves. She ran a finger along the spines of the books, making sure that they were real. Turning sharply on her heel, she looked around the room and decided that this must be a dream or a trick or something. They had been to the ruins before and there was no way that anyone could have restored it like that. She reached out and pinched her arm, to make sure that she wasn't dreaming.

xxxxxxxxxx

Sebastian thought it would be best if he left them for a bit while he prepared some other things within the house. It seemed like he was going to have to take some of the initiative.

He suspected that it was going to be somewhat difficult to serve a master like him. Klaus wasn't demanding, he seemed to only be concerned with protecting his family but that wasn't going to be very fun. Although, with a little pushing, he could make things a lot more interesting.

After several hours of silence he decided to bring some tea for the older two and milk for the baby. Although he didn't know their tastes yet he was sure that he could understand them soon. He figured that the baby would at least like milk. Babies like milk, right?

When came to the library door he knocked three times but there was no answer. "Master?" he said through the door. He opened it slightly to find that his young master and his siblings were sound asleep together. He smiled to himself as he left the room. They should have their peace for now, things would not stay this way for long.

xxxxxxxxxx

Violet was the first to wake up. She had to blink a couple of times to make sure what she was seeing was real. Her home had been burnt to the ground just days ago and now everything was back where it had been. Everything except their parents.

She got up and looked over at her sleeping siblings with a smile. Taking a deep breath, she decided to go back to her own room. She hadn't seen it since the fire. She hoped that everything was back to normal.

She opened the door as quietly as she could and slipped out into the hall. As she was walking she could smell something sweet.

As much as she wanted to see what was going on, she was already on her way to do something. She reasoned with herself that after she was finished she would go to the kitchen and see what was going on.

When she got to her room, she stood in front of the closed door and just stared at it. She knew what to expect but for some reason she didn't want to bring herself to hope. It shouldn't be any different than the rest of the house but, in her imagination, she pictured it blackened by the fire and all the things that she had been working on were gone forever. All her notes destroyed.

But when she opened it everything was there, just as she left it. All of her notes and inventions, everything was perfect. She started to cry.

Sometimes, after a long and hard experience, you will start crying. Not because you are unhappy, or that anything is wrong but it is a sort of relief. It is not something that you could explain yourself. This is what Violet felt.

She hadn't heard the butler coming up the stairs. "Are you in need of anything?" he asked politely, bowing slightly. She shook her head vigorously, - a word which here means hard enough to make sure that he knew she was fine, and replied, "I'm just still in shock over everything had happened."

"Of course," he replied, "Well, if you would like to come down to the dinning room while I fetch your siblings. I've prepared a breakfast for you." "Thank you sir, but I'll get them." she replied, timidly.

He still scared her a little. What if he really was a demon? If he really was a demon then her only option would be to figure out a way how to save her brother's soul. But she would have to do it without him knowing. If he really was a demon, then he would try to stop her for sure.

As she walked to the library she thought about how she was going to research this. She would have to do it out of the house, somewhere he couldn't find her.

Klaus was stirring when she walked in. "Klaus," she whispered, "Klaus, Sebastian made breakfast for us." He blinked up at her as she started getting Sunny up.

While they were walking down the stairs towards the dining room Klaus turned to his sister and said, "Are all your inventions where you left them?" She nodded and replied, "Yeah, everything is perfect." Klaus seemed happy, "Sebastian is amazing, isn't he?"

She looked down in thought. The answer was difficult. Sebastian was amazing in everything he did but he was terrifying. She didn't want to make Klaus feel bad or worry.

His smile slowly started to fade as she said silent in thought. "What he DID was amazing, but what he is..." she couldn't find the right word for it. She felt a little bad about the way she said it but there wasn't any other way of saying it.

As the three of them sat down at their familiar table, Sebastian wasn't there but before them laid a feast. The smell was amazing, eggs, pancakes, bacon and everything in between. The only thing that any of them could possibly complain about, not that they would, was Sunny didn't have a plate. Instead there was a bottle of milk and a bowl of yogurt.

"Um, Sebastian?" Klaus called, hoping that he was nearby. Sebastian appeared from the hallway leading into the kitchen. "Yes Klaus?" "Can you get a plate for Sunny?" as Sebastian raised an eyebrow he continued, "Sunny likes to bite hard things." "I see, of course," Sebastian replied, retreating back into the hallway.

After he brought a plate for Sunny, he disappeared again. Violet thought that he was doing this because he knew that she was feeling uncomfortable. She wondered if she was expecting too much out of him because he said that he was a demon.

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Sebastian waited until about noon to speak with them again. The older siblings were close and if he made one of them uncomfortable the other one would be as well. More than that, he needed to treat them both as masters equally, otherwise that would just cause him unwanted trouble.

He was truly the oddest master he had ever served.

Once again they were all gathered in the library. As he walked down the hall, he was trying to think of the best way to phrase his suggestion to move his new master to the office. He understood that the office had belonged to his master's father and that could cause a bit of a problem in the long run.

Moreover, since he made the girl slightly uncomfortable, it would be better if there were other employees. He had thought about this before and made a list of the people that were candidates for the position.

He knocked lightly on the door and waited for a response. "Master, My Lady, I have something that I would like to speak to you about." He said politely.

"Of course," Violet said, she had gathered some of her inventing materials to work on in the library. He entered and looked at both of them in turn. "For the safety of both of you, I think it would be best if the two of you continued your family's business."

Violet knit her brows slightly, "I don't know exactly what they did." "Neither do I." Klaus added.

Sebastian was surprised by this. "I believe that it was something like information trading." They both gave him a very suspicious look, "How do you know that?" Violet asked. Sebastian gave them a mysterious smile, "As the Baudelaire butler, I should know at least this much."

"I have gathered the necessary information to start with." He continued, although they didn't seem like they were really ready. He thought it best that he just pushed through. "But, may I suggest that we deal with something a little less difficult."

He presented them with the list of names that he had pulled up. "I'm afraid that this might be a little much for me to handle alone," he lied with a smile on his face, "These are the names of potential servants. All of which I believe would be good for this household." He handed them the list and stepped back.

Violet looked from the list to Sebastian, "What about Count Olaf?" Her sibling looked concerned and nodded. Sebastian held his sly smile, "Mr. Poe had temporary allowed me to become your guardian, in name only, of course. Later on today, I'll be seeing Mr. Poe to finalize thing."


End file.
